CHAP. IX TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



413 



little clearing in the thick bush, and I there found 

 gathered together some 500 natives of all ages and 

 both sexes. I was welcomed wdth smiles, and room 

 was made for me under a spreading tree, about ten 

 feet from the nearest dancers. 



The dance was simple in its movement, consisting 

 of a sharp rise upon the toes, the heels returning 

 with a dull thud to the earth ; the shock of which was 

 diminished by bending the knees, and inclining the 

 upper part of the body forward. The dancers were 

 ranged in three double circles (one within the other), 

 each circle consisting of pairs of youths and maidens. 

 They faced their partners, each placing hands upon 

 the shoulders of the other. In the middle stood the 

 master of ceremonies, an elderly man wearing a mon- 

 key-skin headdress of vast proportions. He beat 

 time on a huge drum, and led the songs in a high, 

 falsetto voice. The dance began at sunrise, and 

 lasted with but little intermission until sunset. Occa- 

 sionally a dancer stepped out of the ranks to rest for 

 a moment or two ; but even at such time his sympathy 

 with his fellows kept his legs on the move and his 

 voice in time. Surely the movement must be most 

 fatiguing, and doubtless is one of the causes of the 

 fine development noticeable in Daitcho legs. The sing- 

 ing was continuous, but the songs changed abruptly 

 and with frequency ; still, as the Daitcho register does 

 not comprise a great variety of notes, to a European 

 the songs all sounded alike. 



The dance is an important function, and, being a 

 full-dress affair, it brings to view all the finery the 

 dancers possess. The men daub themselves from 



